Oil gas generator-burner



Feb. 23, "1954l L. VIGNERE, sR

OIL GAS GENERATOR-BURNER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 4, 1950 Lmzra gnerggm g/WQ' r@ Ctttomeg j VIGNERE, sR

OIL GAS GENERATOR-BURNER Feb. 23, 1954 `4 sheets-sheet 2 Filed oct. 4, 195o Leonard Wig/zere, $7:- nventor Gttomege Feb. 23, 1954, l y l.. VIGNERE, SR Y 2,670,032

OIL GAS GENERATOR-BURNER.

Filed oct. 4, 195o v 4 sheets-sheet s Leonard '972612312 mnentor Feb. 23, 1954 l.. VIGNERE, sR

OIL GAS GENERATOR-BURNER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 4, 1950 UIN Leonard V'gzeae,

M5 l attorney y Patented Feb. 23, 1954 "UI-TED lSTATES "PATENT OFFICE OIL. GAS GENERATOR-BURNER f Leonard Vignere, Sr., Salem, -Ohio Applicationctober 4, 1950, Serial No. l188,380

4 Claims.

ji v.This invention relatesto theV construction. of `anioil gas generating retort andburner,` adapted for use either indomestic or industrialinstallations,- whether they be originalr vinstallations or v...conversions from otherv types. of .previouslyr installed burners. More particularlyA the invention .relates to oil burners of thegun type, as dis- .tinguished from those fallinginto. that grouping y.commonly designated as pot type oil burners.

For proper appreciation of the main objects of ...thepresent invention, itis worth repeating the ..wellknovvn Ifactlthatoil is in thenal analysis a gas*` changed ,toa ,liquidstate .An important kobject .of the. present. invention is .to provide a burner structure orretort wherein. the liquid is first broken down to its original gaseous state byheating italmostto the v1iiashI point and sup- `plyingthe requisite amount-.of 'air vto support perfect. combustion.

Iprposey to produce' this highlydesirable re- .sult' by the provision of an oilA gas-generating burner uincluding a retort, so formed .as to cause `an initial mixture of oil spray and air to be igvnited by an electrode. or its equivalent, the resultantiame heating; a centrallyV disposed portion. of an overlying retort in amanner to provide a"hot spot which thereafter preheats the oil spray impin'ging thereagainst so as'to form a gas. The flame, meanwhile; travels out to the outer circumference-of the retort,'there heating .'andpkeeping hota vplurality of;delecting ribs lwhich in `turn keep'hot the entire retort. After saidginitial ignition of the'rniXture,- there is` no -"flameat the hot spot'area, `but thisarea reor mist coming inV contact With'it into'a gas that lis deflected outwardly and radially ofthe gasifying area andis ignited atv the periphery of the retort. `The` result is a highly desirable-blue frame not unlike'that caused by*V combustion of "natural gas,v which flame is ldirected outwardly from the deflecting ribs in a horizontal swirling f-motion.

i Cooperating' with the retort `above mentioned is ay vertically disposed gun-type burner structure Vas 'distinguishedfrom horizontally disposed gunvtype burner structures.

Horizontally disposed Agun-type Aburners are lgenerally yextended through av sidewall'A of the furnace or boiler into the `ash pit thereof 'Burners .of -this type do notlendv themselves to economical use, and' this is because the ash .pit usually mustbe'lined with fire'brick or other Arefractory vvmaterial `to sustain combustion, 'the g tashgpit inthis.way;.beingformed .into a combus .tion chamber for. the burner. vA burnerv 'of this type is in point of actual fact no more than'a :sprayer,.since it sprays the liquid fuel'directly against a refractory Wall, where the'combustion takes place, dependence being had upon 'therefractory material to sustain smokeless andv sootlesscombustion.

By reason of their very nature, such gun type burners would generally be installed horizontally, because of the tendency of the sprayed fuel to trickle back to the spray tip or fall downwardly thereupon whenever the spray becomes too heavy f for combustion at a location remote from the tip.

The result is carbonizing of the spray tip or nozzle, with obvious reductionor loss of function thereof.

Pottype burners, on the other hand, are'generyally installed vertically, and have notable' delike flame, as'` distinguished from the flame produced by the horizontal gun type burner, `and wherein said ame will impinge not upon a refractory material, as is now generally the case, butrather, againstv the heating walls of thefurnace orboiler in which the unit is installed.

Another .important object is to provide ano'l burner and. combustionY head or retort` constructionV so formed as to produce the end result of complete combustion, without residue or'carbon deposits, by successively breaking the fuel into small particles, intermixing these thoroughly with' air tov support combustion, and then disin- :tegrating the mixture into a highly combustible gaseous vfog by impingement of the mixture against heated' component parts of thev combustion head or chamber prior to complete combustion.

With the foregoing and other objects in View Which'will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction andy combinations' ofv parts, hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changesmay be made in the construction andl arrangement *of parts without 'departing from thev spirit of the invention as claimed.

. Referring to the drawing:

VFigure 1 is arvertical sectional view through a vertically disposedgun type oilburner and combustion'. head vor chamber formed in accordance with the invention and through a furnace in which the structure is mounted.

Figure 2 is a top plan View of the oil burner, the combustion head being removed and a portion of an air nozzle forming part of said burner being broken away.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of an outer ring of the wick.

Figure 4 is a vertical section View through the combustion head or chamber alone.

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of said head.

Figure 6 is a horizontal section through the head taken on the line -S of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure l in which is illustrated a modified form of retort or head of a two piece formation used in cooperation with a burner formed as in Figure l.

Figure 8 is a bottom plan view of the lower portion of said modined retort.

Figure 9 is a section through the upper portion of said modied retort taken on line 9--9 of Figure 7.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the oil burner and combustion or burner head constituting the present invention have been illustrated as mounted in a conventional domestic type furnace having the outer wall l mounted upon the floor or other supporting surface 2. The furnace includes the bowl-shaped fire box 3 disposed above and in communication with the i tor 8 for the purpose of forcing fuel through the pressure line lil leading to the fuel atomizing nozzle.

All this is more or less conventional construction, and it may be noted that in a horizontal gun type burner, the fuel nozzle is usually disposed in the inner end of the conduit Ei, and discharges its spray horizontally into the ash pit 4.

In accordance with the present invention,

i however, an L -shaped extension conduit l2 having a ninety degree bend intermediate its ends is mounted upon the inner end of the conduit 5. In the present instance, the conduit i2 has at its lower end the bell i3 receiving the inner terminus of the conduit t, ears ifi being formed in- L tegral with said bell and projecting laterally from opposite sides thereof. Threaded openings are formed in the ears, and bolts l5 extend through said openings to provide adjustable supporting legs. At the bend of the conduit l2 is formed a bracket iii also provided with ears having threaded openings for the bolts il constituting supporting legs adjustable with and cooperating with the bolts i5 to support the conduit l2 and associated parts at a desired elevation.

The upper end of the conduit l2 extends vertically into the lower end of the fire box 3, the wall of the nre box comprising one of the heating walls against which maximum heat should be directed for optimum heating efficiency of the installation. Said upper end of the conduit is flared as at it and formed with the outturned annular flange i3 grooved as at 2Q to provide an annular seat for a depending peripheral flange 2l of a circular base plate 22 of an air nozzle supported upon the conduit I2.

The base plate 22 is horizontally positioned so as o extend transversely across the outlet end of the vertical conduit I2.

The air nozzle also includes a frusto-conical centrally apertured cover plate or ring 23 overlying and spaced above the marginal part of the base plate. In the present instance the cover plate is made integral with the base plate. However, it is not critical to the invention that it be so made, or even xedly connected to the base plate, it being mainly important that the cover plate or ring overlie protectively the marginal portion of the base plate while yet leaving the central area of the air nozzle open to provide an aperture for sprayed fuel and the air that is to be intermixed therewith. In this connection, some of the sprayed fuel may tend to trickle back downwardly within the air nozzle, and accordingly, I form in the coverring, where it intersects with the periphery of the base plate, a circumferential series of weep holes 24.

The protectively covered marginal portion of the base plate is formed with concentric rows of air outlet openings, two such rows being illustrated in the present instance, though more or less can be provided as desired, so long as all the openings underlie the covering. In each of these openings is mounted an upstanding nipple or sleeve 25 defining passages for the air flowing out of the conduit i2, and these nipples extend a short distance above the top surface of the base plate 2f to prevent such fuel as is to drain through the weep holes from draining through the air outlets.

As before noted, the covering ring at its upper end is formed with a large central aperture 25 through which the air and sprayed fuel passes, and below the aperture a fuel spray nozzle 21 is mounted vertically, to discharge upwardly through the aperture. The nozzle 21 is of the hollow cone type well known in the art, and is exteriorly threaded for threaded engagement in selected positions of vertical adjustment relative to the edge of the aperture 2G, in a threaded center opening formed in the otherwise mperforate center portion of the base plate 22. Lock nuts 28 are threaded on the nozzle against the top and bottom surfaces of the base plate to hold the nozzle in said selected positions of adjustment and also prevent leakage between the nozzle 21 and the opening of the base plate in which it is mounted.

To ignite the combustible fuel-air mixture any of various well known means can be used, such as a pilot light or electrode igniter, and except as necessarily required by the scope of the appended claims, I do not desire to limit myself to any particular igniting means. In the present instance, as one example of a suitable igniting means, I provide cables 29 mounted at 35i upon the conduit I2 and extending upwardly therefrom through exteriorly threaded sleeves 3l to the igniting electrodes 32, the spaced tips of which are disposed above the cover ring23. The sleeves 3| are mounted in threaded openings 33 formed in a horizontally disposed annular support plate Sli that surrounds the air nozzle and is supported upon the flange it. Lock nuts 35 secure the sleeves in selected positions of adjustment and also prevent leakage of fuel flowing over the support plate.

The peripheral area of the support plate is formed with a circumferential depression 36 di- .videdinto .concentrici annular. seats ithroughfzthe provision of an upstanding partition-.61 castinv.tegralvr'fith the'support plate. AThe .innerseat :or :trough dened'by saidl partition. isavrepository ainto :which lSaid :backwardly tricklingi fuel drain- Aing `through the `weep holes-and fiowingfacross "the support .plate 311 is :ultimately deposited.

:Itis desirable, in Ithis connection, to-provide for the combustion of fuel so deposited and to this end, there are positioned in the innertrough a zpair of spaced upstanding rings Vlyand 39 de- .ning means for supporting-aquantity ofi-ab- -sorbent non-combustible material 4! such-:asas- Lbestos. The fuel moving into the inner'trough Y. tends -.to saturate the. material alli and" is vburnedyoff .as it interniixes withvair providedfor bythe .,formation, insaid inner and outerz rings `38.and

39, of perforationslil and I42 extending through u:the fullareathereof.

In the outer .seatortrcugh of the supportplate is positionedan upstanding .ring llaconstituting the inner wall of-an outer channel thebottomof "whichis formed by a at ring 44 and the outer Awall-.of which engages the wallv of .the .fire box 3 of the furnace. bestos or other non-combustible mater-ialAE.

With an oil burner constructed as described above, I-utilize intheform of Figure 1 aburner ,or combustion head or retort generally designated Mend comprising a rigid assembly supported by the platetd in-an elevated position above the The head4 i6 includes a circular series of radial .vertically disposed legs 4l that seat upon the plate 34 and extend upwardly therefrom. At

.their .upper ends/the legsA'l Varefintegralvwithy ywide radial .partitions or ribshd.constitutingex- ,tensions ofthe legs. .Inthe present-.instance six equidistant legs-andr partitions are provided but moreor lesscan be usedto good advantage.

. .Ajdeecting coneti is supported` by and rigidly attached-to the curved top .edgesofthe parti- ,tions.48. .The .cone is integralwitha horizontally disposed peripheral flange .50, the rconeand ange together dening a circular topmdeflector .on vthe burner head deflecting theflamelradially -and .outwardly to. impart to vit .a ower-likeform.

l.A lower baiiie. ring .5l .of annular upwardly in- 'inclined out of radial alignment with"thefizlivid-V ling partitions soas to impart to theower-like flame a swirling lateral motion, thereby tof'direct -thevfulleiect of the flame laterally against the 'surface of the wall V3 to be'heated. The baffles "53 constitute extensions of-the-dividingparti-y ftions while thev cailles tifare individual -jplates 1 rigidly secured to. the vmar-ginal portionof-"the deflector 5t.

In use of the burner, on a call for heat by the usual room thermostat, not shown, or equivalent means, a circuit is closed through the electrodes 32 and motor 8 in the usual manner. Air is thus forced at substantial velocity through the draft tube or conduit I2 by the blower, simultaneously with the pumping of liquid fuel through the pressure line lll and spraying of said fuel from the spray nozzle 2l. The hollow cone formation of the sprayed fuel is illustrated in dotted lines in Figure l, and it is seen that the cone is directed upwardly and outwardly, slanting across This channel is iilledwith as- "d "iwthezpathsof #the i vair fforced under :pressureupwardiy .through the 'aperture 2t at :the 4.upper v:end-sof z-the air nozzle. A f thorough mixturepf thesprayedzfuel and air is` obtained inthis man- ,nerrandthisfis ignited at the peripheryv of. the .-.ai1"^nozzle '.-and' is deflected lradially in all direc- :.tions byftheburner head. Rapid-heatingupof :the material-fof which theburner head'ismade :now ftakes v',place, and as combustion continues, -r.the heat-.pf thexburner. headf tends to disintegrate the intermixed fuel and sair; atthecenter area of the burnerheadbefore full combustion there- .;of-1=in:the'.marginaliarea of the head. Thus, the desirable result isv obtained of generatingthe intermixedfuel' andiairinto .aiixed Vgas ywith the soot or :carbon in isuspension for thorough Pconf sumptionlby theA heat of combustion.

Of major importance isthe fact that the struc- :ture: provides whatrhas heretofore not existed in gun-type oil burners of the general- 'typein .widespread use today, namely, a vertically" dis- .posedf'gun type burner characterized byits1spe :ciflc adaptability for: producing an unusually defsirable 'shape .of flame' .at .a Aparticularly favorable fflocationf within thefurnace. ln this connection, adaptation ofthe burner for vertical mounting is possible mainly because of the means provided for. disposition oft such. liquidfuel as'may'be too f heavy for continued upward'and outward-.movefment with the .air to .be intermixedtherewith to .support combustion. 'Such fuel," if'. it dropsfback .throughthe aperture'zt, vwill drop tothe "im- .perforate center portion of the base'plateZZ and :passing between 'but not through thenipples A125, v4will drain. o'lflthrough the weep holes 24, moving vthereafter across-.the plate 34 and into thetrough -at vthe .margin'of -the plate. The fuell is'ithen 'absorbed by lthe. asbestos .dt and is continuously consumed.

f'fthe `.fuel `drops down upon the `protective cover ring 23, it gravitates :directly to the plate 53d,y .andl'then into thev trough as above noted. The

:zprotectiveicover ring, of course,makes it impos- ,usible for.theffallingfuel'to drop into the air outr'lets of the draft tube.

. `:Considering now .the modied construction illustrated in Figures 'i tofginclusive, there is 'shere `illustratedfaretort of two-piece V'formation fthe "overall shapeor congurationof which is r'particularlyfadaptedz to preheat' the sprayedfuel '.mixturet impinging thereagainst and generatev` a gas therefrom, while effecting a suction of the "finixturetothe-.periphery of the retort-'for full combusticnzat saidl periphery.

LThefmodiedvretort is supported uponand ".overlies ya fburner formed ashereinbefore defscribed and includesa lower-portion'thathas 11a pluralityiof radially disposed vertically extend- '.inglegs 5t. "These `rest upon. theplateid, and :at: them-upper ends are integralI orctherwise rig-id #with :an :inverted frusto-conical 'balde ring,r 55. "ihei'ringrii is. integral at its inner periphery with fan-annularange `that extends above 'fand below said inner periphery of the baille ring, to complete the formation of the lower portion of the modified retort.

Supported upon the lower portion but wholly free of connections thereto is the upper portion of the retort, this being formed with a plurality of radial cir-cumferentially spaced vertical partitions 5l. The bottom edges of the partitions simply rest upon the baille ring and are of inclined formation so as to complement the inclination of the ring.

The outer edge portions of the partitions 51 tit are vertically disposed deecting members or bafes that are inclined out of radial alignment with the main body portions of the partitions as readily seen from Figure 9. vSpaced periph erally of the retort are other vertically disposed radially oiset defiecting ribs 59, the members 58 and 59 serving to deflect the gases at the time of combustion laterally and outwardly from the report in a swirling motion in the same manner as hereinbefore described with reference to the first form of retort.

At their upper ends, the partitions and deflecting ribs 59 are integral or otherwise rigid with the top plate Si! of the upper retort portion, this being of circular conguration and having a centrally disposed deflecting cone 6|. The cone 6i is hollow, made so by the provision of a deep center recess 92 in the top plate.

It may be noted that the provision of a twopiece retort faciiitates assembly within the furnace, since installer is enabled to position the lower retort portion as a first step, after which the upper retort portion is simply placed thereupon without the necessity of effecting special connections between the parts, with both pieces being capable of entry separately through furnace openings of limited size.

Considering the operation of the modiiied retort construction, it is understood that the liquid fuel is sprayed upwardly from the nozzle 2'! in the same manner as in the first form of the invention. Initially the resultant fuel-air mixture is ignited by the electrodes in the space immediately below the cone 6l. This flame heats the hot spot constituted by the hollow cone and when the cone temperature rises suiciently, the oil spray striking it is vaporized'forming a gas. At the same time, the flame travels to the outer circumference of the retort, there being no `flame below and immediately surrounding the hot cone after the initial ignition.

At the outer circumference of the retort, the deecting ribs 58, 59 are kept heated by the ame burning at said outer circumference. This in turn serves to keep the entire top plate 69 hot enough to vaporize an oil spray or mist coming in contact therewith.

The result, I have found, is a blue flame of excellent quality which is discharged at high velocity through the openings defined between the several ribs 53 and 59, in a horizontal swirling motion.

With further reference to the operation of the retort in bringing these highly desirable results about, it should be noted that the addition of the ange provides an area through which the oil-air mixture is sprayed upwardly at high velocity7 and this in turn causes a suction in the area immediately below said ange 56 and surrounding the member 23. The suction created causes hot gases from the area at the outer circumference to be drawn under the baille ring 55 into said oil-air mixture as the mixture is sprayed upwardly through the flange 56, thus aiding in preheating of the mixture.

Also of importance is the fact that the ring constitutes a vaporizing plate which, due to its heated condition, assists in vaporizing of any part of the fuel-air mixture that may drip downwardly thereupon if not fully gasied within the gasifying area disposed immediately above said'vaporizing plate or ring 55.

I claim:

1. An oil burner comprising an'upwardly extended draft tube, an air n-ozzle mounted upon the upper end of said tube and including a substantially horizontal base plate having openings formed in its marginal area, nipples mounted in said openings and projecting above the surface of the base plate, and a frusto-conical cover ring mounted upon said base plate, there being a large center opening formed in said cover ring at its upper end and a circumferential series of weep holes at its lower end, the cover ring constituting means protectively shielding said base plate openings against gravitating fuel particles, the walls of said weep holes constituting means for leading ed fuel flowing over the base plate surface and between the nipples, a liquid fuel spray nozzle mounted in the center portion of the base plate and extending upwardly toward the center of the cover ring to spray fuel therethrough for intermixing with air channeled from the base plate openings to center opening, and a drain plate having a epression and surrounding said air nozzle for receiving fuel draining through the weep holes.

2. An oil burner as in claim 1, and said burner including a plurality of foraminous rings supported in the depression of said drain plate, and a quantity of non-combustible, fuel absorbing material held between said foraminous rings.

3. An oil burner as in claim 1, and said burner including substantially non-combustible, fuelabsorbing material; and means retaining said material in the depression of said drain plate.

4. An oil burner as in claim l, and said burner including a plurality of upwardly-extending foraminous rings supported in the depression of said drain plate, and asbestos held between said foraminous rings.

LEONARD VIGNERE, SR.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PA'IliIl\l"1`Sv Number Name Date 824,689 Flager et al June 26, 1906 1,513,461 Johnson Oct. 28, 1924 1,522,064 Johnson Jan. 6, 1925 1,636,169 Chalmers July 19, 1927 1,822,844 Klees Sept. 3, 1931 2,286,683 Roth June 16, 1942 2,419,719 DiFilippo Apr. 29, 1947 2,420,598 Jackson May 13, '1947 

